She ignored the question. Her reputation preceded her, it would seem.

The furniture was soft and relaxed; her body melded to her chair, and there was a pull-out couch with the most comfortable bed she had ever slept on a few feet away. The furniture was all a smooth, deep oak and made the already grand train car appear even bigger. There was a flat screen television hanging in the corner of the screen with digital cable, but because the train ride was so quick and Lizzie had a lot of work to do, she wasn’t able to enjoy it.

The first picture was a full-body shot of Lewis Vladislaus, who took after his mother – or so everyone said. He was younger than Nikolai by a few hundred years which, in vampire time, was not that much. He wasn't really tall, maybe five-foot ten, and he had long, strawberry blond hair that was pulled into a casual ponytail. His eyes were a sapphire blue that highlighted his alabaster skin quite beautifully. His body was toned and well-kept, and he was wearing an outfit that was predominantly black. His hooked nose only enhanced the enigmatic smirk on his face, and something about him caused Lizzie to shift uneasily as she regarded the picture. It wasn't because she was afraid of him; something about this man rubbed her the wrong way and she couldn't explain why.

The second picture was another full-body shot, this one of the vampire she was supposed to be protecting. His height was the first thing she noticed about him. If she had to give his height a number, she would guess it was about six-foot four, maybe six-foot five. He was leaner than his brother was, but his body still contained some muscle mass and Lizzie could tell that if need be, he could protect himself when the time called for it (but apparently, he still needed a babysitter). For some odd reason, he, too, was wearing black, but it only highlighted his own blue eyes, more transparent than his brother’s, thanks to his jet-black hair. It was styled gracefully, combed back from his face and held back with gel. Snow was falling in the background, and she wondered just how long ago this candid had been taken. A small indent crowded his chin, and his hooked nose gave his face more of an interesting story than a smaller, straighter one might.

"He looks like his father," Lizzie murmured aloud, and her eyes went wide at the realization.

Lizzie could tell why some vampires didn't exactly approve of him being their next king. He looked too wrapped up in his thoughts to give others any consideration - stoic and brooding. But there was something warm about him, something friendly that didn't show in Lewis's picture, and Lizzie had a feeling it had to do with Nikolai's mother, Elise. He looked like his father, certainly, but he had his mother’s skin tone.

Lizzie curled a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She let out a breath and grabbed her half-full cup of cold tea before deciding against it and setting it back down.

Elise was a human, and that was why many humans were familiar with her story. People might not know a lot about vampires – the species was incredibly private – but everyone who had taken any kind of history class knew the story of Elise. She had met Vladislaus, then Vlad Tepes, one hundred years after he had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for immortality. Despite the fact that his heart was unable to beat, it would seem it was still capable of love. Soon, the couple married, and Elise got pregnant with Nikolai. After he was born, Vladislaus decided to turn Elise into a vampire so she, too, would live forever. Two hundred years later, Lewis was born.

The only thing people outside vampire society really knew about the royals was the controversy between the two brothers. Nikolai, the half-human, half-vampire set to inherit the throne while Lewis, the full-blooded vampire, was not. But after significant DNA tests, doctors proved that Nikolai was predominantly vampire, with only a physical resemblance of his mother being human. Vampire genes were dominant, it would seem.

By the time the train rolled into the station, Lizzie could feel a headache coming on. Luckily for her, she knew of a way to alleviate it. She would go running once she settled into her temporary residence. Though her contact at the castle had offered to pick her up, she politely refused and instead requested that a nineteen sixty-nine cherry apple red convertible Ford Mustang wait for her with a GPS system programmed, carrying directions to the castle.

And there it was, the most beautiful thing she had ever seen was sitting in the parking lot. The train station and the attached parking lot were the only rural things around. Tall trees and bushes surrounded the isolated building, so tall they blocked out the dark blue sky. She knew there was a quaint town east of the castle, but other than that, it was completely deserted.